Getting Back in the Saddle

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Getting Back in the Saddle

Nacho is a 14 yo Paint gelding who has a few issues and has had 7 years off. This is our journey!

I’m not a professional trainer and will make mistakes but I will work through them and get professional help when I feel I need it!

02/03/2023

I’ve changed the name of the page because as most people know, I lost Nacho on January 1, 2023. So now I’m going to be focusing on my own journey back into the saddle.

I am so lucky to have some pretty amazing friends who have horses I’ll be able to ride. My one friend has a horse I’ve been able to get on twice now! Ricky Bobby is my friend Darcey’s horse! He’s a lovely chap who’s been kind enough to not buck me off, even when I’m unstable and unsure up there lol. Thank you Darcey for helping me out!!

My goals starting out are to get my muscles back into shape and so they don’t scream at me to stop!! So far I haven’t been too sore the next few days but I know the more I do the more it may hurt!

24/05/2022

Yesterday, we had a bit of a breakthrough I feel… we actually had a few instances of long and low! Long and low is when they stretch down to the ground with their noses. It stretches out the top line and can only be done if they’re totally relaxed! The end goal will be for him to do this at a walk, trot, and a canter!

23/05/2022

I haven’t posted here for a while and figured it would be a good time for an update! I’ve had Nacho for a little over a year now and while I’m not galloping across the hills with him, I have seen major improvements! He had the whole winter off and I’ve just started working with him again. I’ve gone back to the beginning and am slowly working through everything again. This time it’s taking a lot less time to see the changes. Here is a video I took from yesterday and I’ll post the one from our second lunging session a year ago in the comments…huge difference!

08/02/2022

I had some help today from my neighbor! We went for a good walk around the field with Milla leading him and me behind “driving” him! It was interesting to watch how he reacted to having someone else around him while I did the tacking up. He stayed nice and quiet while the saddle was being done up and after a few tentative steps forward we were off! We walked all around the field and then when we were at the top of the field, Milla released him and I let him head back to the gate. We stopped a couple times and I was able to get him going again without having to have him pulled forward! Then we did what I did yesterday where I stood behind his shoulder with my arm over his back. He was really not wanting to walk forward at first but we were able to move forward! Once we were walking, there were big sighs and licking and finally some relaxation! One step at a time! Thank you for the help Milla!!

06/02/2022

I’ve had Nacho home for several months now and he’s settled nicely and today I finally worked with him again. I decided to try ground driving him to see how he’d respond and he was great! Saddling went very well and he stayed relaxed through the whole process.

Saddling went well, as I mentioned earlier, he raised his head slightly but after a couple bend to relax he lowered his head and licked his lips and gave a big sigh. Then I hooked up the long lines… I went behind him and he was quite confused but after some clicking and pushing, he started walking for me! By the end I could just walk behind him all good. I didn’t try steering him, I just let him decide where he wanted to go.

Once the driving, I use that term loosely lol, I decided to try standing just behind his shoulders and tried to get him to walk forward… no go lol. He backed up and then just moved sideways for a bit. Tomorrow I’m going to get some help and have someone walk him forward! But even tho he was confused and uncomfortable he remained calm and didn’t blow up! All in all I’m thrilled with how he did today after such a long time since I’ve worked with him!

09/11/2021

It is so nice to have Nacho right out in the field. I’m able to go and visit him any time I want! Most of the time I find him waiting for me at the gate!

Today there was definitely “something” in the air. The dogs were out of sorts and so was Nacho. He had a few little issues while I was saddling him. Same as before, head coming up and just getting a bit worried. So stepped back and waited before moving on. No freak outs! Couple of big sighs and some licking. We went to start lunging and he had a bit more pep in his step today! We did a bunch of walk trot transitions and he didn’t always want to walk right away. We kept at it until he’d respond right away. When we turned around…. A couple big leaps and a half assed attempt at a buck lol. I pushed him forward and he had a couple more smaller hops before he finally settled into a forward canter. I went back to the walk trot transitions and while he did break into a canter a couple times he was pretty good. By the end he was even starting to stretch down a bit into a long and low! I then went back to some yielding the hind quarters and then a bunch of getting on and off a bunch of times. He was breathing more deeply this time when I was sitting on him. The first couple times he’s take these really shallow breaths. It was definitely a positive end to our session!

07/11/2021

Nacho has been here a week now and I finally got the chance to work with him again… this whole working full time is getting in the way of playing with the pony… he’s settled very nicely and it sure is nice to go out to feed and hear a horse nicker at you. Today we did a bunch of walk trot transitions on the lunge line as well as some yielding the hind quarters. These exercises will help build up his core muscles and make it easier for him to move around etc. We ended the session with me sitting on him again for a while. He’s still got a few rabbits bouncing around in there but it’s getting better every time. Also Clifford figures Nacho is okay, as long as no other dogs are around, then he barked at him lol. Nacho doesn’t seem to care one bit!

01/11/2021

Well, due to Nacho not getting along with the other horses, I’ve brought him home finally. I was hoping he’d be able to live with the other horses rather than living by himself but alas it just wasn’t meant to be. So we went for a nice little walk along behind the Kingdom Hall and came down the mountain beside the Esso and then along the boulevard to my property. He was awesome! He stepped over big logs and up rocky hills and around trees and bushes. Came down the hill and handled the highway like a champ. When I turned him out in the field he just casually walked around as if he was always here! So nice to look out in the field and see a horse! It’s been a few years!

21/10/2021

When I was playing with Nacho the other day, I noticed he had quite a bit of a gap between his hind legs. I was worried he was thin and going into winter that wouldn’t be good. I did some research and found a video explaining how to do a body condition score on horses including horses with metabolic issues. If you can SEE the ribs, they are a 4 or under and if you CAN NOT see the ribs then they are a 5 or higher. Ideally you want them between a 4 and a 6. Nacho is definitely not underweight but is under muscled. You can’t see his ribs and he’s got a good layer of fat there. I scored him a 5.5 to a 6.

19/10/2021

With getting ready for winter, I’ve really dropped the ball with the spotted pony… however, the groundwork I have been doing earlier is really paying off. I went up today because it was nice and sunny and after a bit of ground work and lunging I sat on the boy! Nacho was a bit tense but didn’t blow up or anything like that!!

When I got there and called for him he came up to the fence and waited for me! I brought him up to the truck to brush him and tack up. This time I saddled him up and there was NO tension or lifting his head when the girth was done up! We walked down the driveway and along the road to the arena and he was great! His head was up and he was looking around and just taking it all in. When I asked him to walk a bit slower he was very responsive and slowed up right away. He was calm but alert in the arena the whole time. We did some walk trot transition as well as some yielding the hind end away from me and then it was time… I tightened the saddle up (again, no reaction just stood there) and got on the mounting block and put my foot in the stirrup. I hopped a few times and then stood all the way up on it. Oh that head snapped up and those ears were straight back at me. I waited for a few seconds and then slowly lowered back down. He was taking the smallest breaths and basically holding his breath. Gave him a pet and told him it would all be okay and put my foot in the stirrup again. Back up and down a few times until he finally gave a big sigh and licked his lips a bit. I gave him a scratch in his mane and then took him for a short walk to make sure those legs weren’t locking. Back to the mounting block and up again. This time I put my leg over and sat down! Wiggled a bit and did a couple bending his head to the left and right and then back off again. We repeated this multiple times and then finally just sat there and enjoyed the moment. It’s been a long time since I’ve hopped on a horse! I know he was probably ready earlier but I don’t think I was. This isn’t just about retraining him it’s also about retraining myself! Getting that confidence back for both of us. One day at a time and we aren’t in a race with anyone. I’ve now got a goal in mind and we will slowly work towards that goal!! Hopefully we get a few more good sunny days before it gets too cold and snowy!

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